CAA'ING WHALE, Globicephalus deductor, an interesting cetaceous animal, which has been very generally included by naturalists in the genus dclphinus with dolphins (q.v.) and porpoises (q.v.), being named by some delphinus mekts (Gr. black), by others D. globiceps, from the round form of its head, but which has recently been separated from the true dolphins, either as a species of porpoise (phoccena), or as the type of a distinct genus, globicephalus, principally characterized by the rounded muzzle, and the convex and rounded top of the head. The general form of the animal is not unlike that of the common porpoise, but it is much larger, being from 16 to 24 ft. in length. The body is thick, its circumference at the origin of the dorsal fin, where it is greatest, being rather more than 10 ft., tapering towards the tail, which is deeply forked. The pectoral fins are remarkably long and narrow, fully 5 ft. in length, differiugvery much in this respect from those of every other known cetaceous animal. The whole number of vertebrae is 55. The color is black, with a white streak from the throat to the vent; and the skin is beautifully smooth, shining like oiled silk.
The C. W. feeds on cod, ling, and other large fishes, but also to a great extent on cephalopodous mollusca, the cuttlefish, indeed, seeming to be its principal food. It is the most gregarious of all the cetacea, great shoals or herds being usually seen together in the northern seas which it inhabits. These herds exhibit the same propensity with
flocks of sheep, when pressed by any danger, to follow their leaders, so that when they are hemmed in by boats, if one break through to the open sea, all escape ; but if one is driven ashore, the rest rush forward with such blind impetuosity as to strand themselves upon the beach, where they become an easy prey and rich prize to their pursuers. The appearance of a herd of caning whales in a northern bay produces a scene of great excite ment, and every boat is in requisition. From 50 to 100 whales are often captured, and it is recorded that 1110 were killed, in the winter of 1809-10, at Hvalfiord, in Iceland. The word meting is not the Scottish form of calling, as has been supposed, but is a totally different Scotch word, which signifies driving. C. W. appears to be originally an Ork ney or Zetland name. The same animal is known to sailors as the black whale, the howling whale, the social whale, and the pilot-fish.—Another species of the same genus, G. rissoanus, 9 or 10 ft. long, the male of a bluish-white color, the female brown, both sexes marked with irregular white lines and brown spots, is found in the Mediterranean.